It’s just not on
A sergeant in Iraq phones his wife and spills the beans on the rotten Army sending him on a dangerous mission. Left wing fools pick up on it and try and turn the word of a recalcitrant into an indictment of the US.
Lets turn the clock back and put it into perspective.
It’s 1970 and by some weird time warp I have a mobile phone in Vietnam. I’ve received my orders to take a patrol into the ‘Light Green’ looking for the ever elusive ‘Charlie’ and I don’t like it one little bit. So on the eve of the patrol I phone my wife back home in Brisbane.
I mean, hulloooo..where’s the armour plating?
I sent this photo to Joan and when she saw it she thought of phoning the press. She told me later that just one look at the dark shadows under my eyes clearly meant I was doing too many ambush patrols. Just not on! (You can just see the Nokia down by the butt of my M16)
Yeah, well, we all know that?s bullshit. If it had have happened I wouldn’t have led the patrol anywhere. I’d be in hospital recovering from the beating my Sergeant gave me and contemplating a post-military career.
And rightly so.
Well, I think rightly so, but guys over at Road to Surfdom seem to think that similar behaviour in Iraq by a platoon of logisticians is symptomatic of all that is wrong with the evil empire that is the US.
“G’day Sweetheart..Yeah. I still love you..OK, social shit over. Just wait till you hear what’s been going on over here. You wouldn’t believe what the bastards have got me doing now, Joan. Tomorrow I have to patrol the ‘Light Green’. I told you last call that there’s minefields down there and we don’t know exactly where they are. I mean, how’s that for totally ignoring Work Place Health and Safety. On top of that we’re being inserted by APCs and everyone knows they’re way over on service schedules due to, and how?s this for a piss-weak excuse, the exigencies of war. Just because we’re fighting a war here, we’ve had a lot of contacts this week and the 2nd Cavalry Regiment drivers haven’t slept, they think they can get away without servicing the vehicles.Warming up to the theme I remember other unbelievable indictments of the Army.
I mean, hulloooo..where’s the armour plating?
I’m getting sick of this shit. Only last week I had to do a convoy protection run and the Land Rover didn’t even have armour plating…like it was a convertible..no roof..no sides. One tropical downpour and we’d all be soaked not to mention the obvious problems associated with being ambushed. I mean, I might have been shot.
I sent this photo to Joan and when she saw it she thought of phoning the press. She told me later that just one look at the dark shadows under my eyes clearly meant I was doing too many ambush patrols. Just not on! (You can just see the Nokia down by the butt of my M16)
Yeah, well, we all know that?s bullshit. If it had have happened I wouldn’t have led the patrol anywhere. I’d be in hospital recovering from the beating my Sergeant gave me and contemplating a post-military career.
And rightly so.
Well, I think rightly so, but guys over at Road to Surfdom seem to think that similar behaviour in Iraq by a platoon of logisticians is symptomatic of all that is wrong with the evil empire that is the US.
This is an unbelievable indictment of the Bush adminsitration:says Tim Dunlop who has obviously learnt how to upload to his web site from Neptune or somewhere else out there because he is sure as shit can’t be from any planet I know Read the initiating article here and then check in at The road to Surfdom Be sure to read the comments.
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What would be an unbelievable indictment of the Bush adminsitration would be if they were involved with things at this level. Do they really think that each supply convoy’s orders come directly from the C-in-C?
I doubt that the administration had even heard of the incident before the article was published.
Doesn’t matter. There is a chance some idiot or two will believe the essence of the story and help to vote out Bush
Kev
I thought about my fathers time in Vietnam when i was reading articles about the unrest amongst support troops in Iraq.
My father drove a Landrover like the one in your picture for much of his time in Vietnam in 68 and the few stories that he will tell, makes your hair stand up. The most armour was a few sandbags on the floor for mines.
I don’t think there is much in the story but they also have it pretty good if there is any armourat all.
Your right mate. Not much in the stroy but it did give me a chance to vent my feelings in a sacrcastic manner
Let’s see….1970 is, what…..34 years ago? Maybe that poor US grunt was just scared shitless for his life? Maybe you, Kevin, just loved doing what you were doing in VietNam because you believed that the Government that sent you there was doing the right & proper thing….maybe not, who am I to say. By the same token, who the hell are you to say what that Sergeant thinks or believes? Hmmm?
What the Sergeant thinks or believes is irelevant. He is a US serviceman and as such has given up the flexibility of selecting his own missions. The military is not a debating society.
I was often scared shitless but not doing the task was never an option. On my 2nd last patrol in the Light Green I had to enter a minefield, extract two dead, one legless and three wounded. One of the dead died in my arms and I would just as soon people who have never experienced these horrors keep out of the debate.
Three days later I received orders to patrol the Light Green.
I obeyed.
The post was sarcastice but the underlying emotions are endelibly etched in my mind and I have no time for soldiers debating their missions or armchair warriors arguing their case.
To Kev:
Right on mate!
Semper Fi
USMC ’71-73